RIVERHURST - The team of Michael Faris and Ryder Rutko captured the top prize of $6,000 enroute to winning the 35 th Riverhurst Walleye Classic tournament on June 14 and 15, 2025. The winners recorded a total catch of 38.38 pounds during the two-day event.
A total of 94 teams were registered in the tournament.
Fair weather blessed the tournament this year in contrast to gale force winds on Sunday last year. A total of 860 walleye were caught and released back into Lake Diefenbaker and throughout the tournament. A grand total of 1,828.756 pounds of walleye were weighed and live released. Only five fish were declared dead on the weigh scale.
Dr. Chris Somers and his team from the University of Regina were at the docks tagging fish as part of their ongoing Lake Diefenbaker research. A total of 220 fish were tagged and measured through the weekend. On a side note, five previously tagged fish were caught during the event.
Rounding out the top three tournament placements in second place were Derek and Forrest Prokopiw with a total catch of 33.925 pounds followed by David Deutscher and Rob Furutani in third place with a total catch of 33.81 pounds. Second place received $3,500 and third place was awarded $2,000.
The tournament’s largest walleye, weighing 10.915 pounds was caught on Sunday by Bill and Dalton Landrie. Saturday’s largest walleye, weighing 6.425 pounds was caught by Tylor and Mathew Arguin. Each team received a cash prize of $970.
The competition was fierce with just 5.39 pounds separating second place and seventh place. Landing that big one that got away could have propelled many of the teams into the money.
The top 20 tournament finishers all received a cash prize. Non top-20 finishers were eligible for a selection of merchandise prizes.
The Riverhurst Walleye Classic is the largest fundraiser for the Riverhurst Recreation Board. Proceeds from the tournament have been directed at enhancements to the Village recreational facilities and structures.
